


Remember When

by dramady



Category: Friday Night Lights
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-06
Updated: 2011-01-06
Packaged: 2017-10-14 11:37:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/148849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dramady/pseuds/dramady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Warnings: spoilers for this season (currently airing on DirectTV)</p><p>Summary:  No one would ever mistake Tim Riggins for a good man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Remember When

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jeck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeck/gifts).



> Disclaimer: Not my characters, belonging to other people. No harm is meant, no profit is gained.

"So you got married, huh?" And Tim offered Jason the best smile he could manage. He knew it wasn't great and it wasn't going to fool anyone. Least of all Six. But it seemed to be enough. Jason nodded back and moved the hand with the ring on it kind of like a shrug and that's when Tim knew that whatever he was going to say, it wouldn't matter.

 _I got that land and Billy's been making the payments on it; he promised. Remember when we used to talk about getting that ranch?_

Except that Jason was a real-time agent now, with cards and everything. Tim held one between his hand. It said Jason Street on it with letters that he could feel when he ran his finger over them. New York City.

 _I kept the program from Gypsy, Six. Remember when we went? You still have those suits? Two for, what was it, $120? And they threw in the shoes, too and a shirt, right? Man, crazy, right?_

Jason had a better hair cut. It was all spiky and Tim wondered how he did it, but he didn't ask. He had pictures of Noah and Tim had looked at them and the kid looked like Six right around the eyes. Heard about the football he had already too. Tim wondered if they played as much football in New York as in Texas, but they had two pro teams, so he guessed so.

 _Pee-wee, Six, remember? You were handing off to me from when we were five. Remember? Remember that time you twisted your ankle when we were ten or something? I carried you. Remember?_

Like Tim carried Jason to the water that time with Lyla, or from the beach in Mexico. Did Jason still weigh the same? Tim couldn't tell the way that he and his chair were pulled up to the table in the visitor's room.

"So, Coach, huh?" Tim tried, and Jason nodded and talked about the calls he'd been getting about Coach Taylor maybe moving on to coach college ball and Tim thought about the State championships and how it had felt like a betrayal, Coach wanting to leave and how Jason had been coaching then, too, and how much different Tim's life had been then.

Texas forever meant a real different thing in prison.

 _I get out in a couple months, I could come see you, you know. Maybe … I don't know … mow lawns or something, huh?_

But Tim already knew the answer to that one without having to ask it. There wasn't room in Jason's New York life for Tim, just like there wasn't room in Billy's family life for Tim either.

Jason had always been the one who was supposed to do great stuff. Tim just hit hard and pumped his legs and knew without even trying now to do the right thing on the football field (except the one time it mattered most) and the wrong thing in life.

 _That was honorable, what you did. That was honor._

Tim still remembered when Coach said that to him. He'd been shocked, but for that little moment, he felt like he was a good person.

Sometimes late at night when he was lying in his bunk, he'd wonder how life would've been different if he had stayed living with the Taylors. Because Tim knew that Coach was a good man. Everyone knew that.

Jason Street was a good man.

Tim was Tim Riggins. They'd never mistake him for a good man.

He had a lot of time to think here. He worked out and he stayed out of the way and tried to avoid trouble. Even he knew he was magnet for crap, but he was doing the best he could here. He was. He was _trying_ and it was hard and when it was dark and he couldn't sleep, he had a real hard time keeping the real shit from feeling like it was taking him over. People got hurt here. That's what he'd tried to tell Billy and Becky when they insisted on visiting every week. Tim wanted to shout at them to _go away_ and not let the shit get them too.

Coach had even come one time and his mouth was in that line and it had almost made Tim laugh how uncomfortable he was across the table. At the same time, Tim had wanted to let it all out and put his head on the table and tell Coach how _sorry_ he was and ask if he still thought Tim was _honorable_. He didn't, of course, he'd just shaken Coach's hand and thanked him for coming and they both knew that Coach wouldn't come again.

He had no friends here. He just kept his head down and kept out of the way.

 _It's lonely here, Six_ , Tim wanted to say, but Jason was talking about one of his clients, a fullback who played for San Diego now and Tim didn't want to interrupt him.

 _I get scared, Six. Real scared_.

"Thanks for coming by, Jay," Tim said after a few minutes. "Means a lot you came by." And Jason brushed his knuckles against Tim's and for a second, it did all fall apart. Tim's face felt hot and he put his head down and tried to breathe.

"You all right, Timmy?" Jason asked and Tim nodded. He nodded, of course, because what could anybody do? Nothing. After another deep breath, he looked up and right into Jason's eyes and he nodded again.

"Yeah. I'm all right."

Jason stared back for a long time and it was like Tim could feel him rooting around in Tim's head and then he sighed and he nodded. "All right. So … you know. Take care of yourself, okay? You got my phone number and everything …. "

That made Tim smirk. What was he going to do? Call? While Jason's son was doing whatever he did and Jason's wife was there and Tim was calling from prison? Tim nodded again. "Yeah, thanks."

Looking around the visitor's room, Jason took another one of those deep breaths and he took the brakes off his chair and wheeled himself back, then. "Okay. Well …. "

"You take care, Six," Tim told him and he hoped like hell that Jason knew that Tim wanted nothing but the best for Jason. That had always been it. That's all Tim wanted, see. He wanted the best for everyone: the Taylors, Billy and Mindy, Lyla, Becky, Jason and his family.

"I'll see you soon, Timmy," Jason said and after another minute, he was moving toward the exit and Tim watched him go.

 _Remember, Six, when we'd go out to the water and drink beers and talk about the future and how it was going to be?_

Nothing had come out like they'd planned. And the worst part about it was that there really wasn't anyone to blame. Except Tim.

 _Remember when I didn't stop that asshole from hitting you?_

 _Remember when I betrayed you with Lyla?_

 _Remember when I messed up the house we flipped?_

 _Remember when I didn't tell Billy that the chop shop was the shittiest idea he'd ever had?_

When Jason looked back from the sunshine of being outside, Tim waved, hardly able to see him in the glare, then the door shut hard and loud.


End file.
